I Don't Think He Knows
by JohnnyIsMyGoldSunset
Summary: I was thinking about Johnny's touching letter to Ponyboy and I remembered how he wanted Dally to watch a sunset. Here's is my emotional and brother-love-filled version if Dally had not died.
1. Asking the Question

Hi guys, while creating the regular stories of stupidity I'm still working on, I wanted to write a story that was a little bit angsty. I remembered the lines that Johnny wrote to Ponyboy that said, "_Tell Dally to watch a sunset. Tell Dally, I don't think he knows," _and I wanted to clarify the real meaning if Dally had never died. Enjoy.

I Don't Think He Knows…

Ponyboy's POV:

I had just finished reading the letter from Johnny that he'd left in _Gone with the Wind._ "_Your buddy, Johnny" _it finished and I felt hot tears of anger and sadness running down my face. _It's all Bob's fault,_ I thought,_ it's all his fault that Johnny is dead in the first place._ I let the tears fall and I remembered that in Johnny's letter he asked me to tell Dally to watch a sunset. To watch its beautiful array of gold and pink flow across the sky. I didn't understand, why would Johnny ask me of all people to do that? I'd likely get clobbered over the head for suggesting such a dumb idea to Dally. But I'd do anything for Johnny, run away for him, fight for him, and even tell my crazy secrets to him that nobody else could dig. But I thought, _would Dally even listen to me…even if I told him Johnny asked him to?_ Then I realized Dallas would do anything if Johnny asked him to, draw a picture, go to church, even watch a sunset.

If Johnny had asked Dally to paint a picture of him, Dally would draw it accurately, painting Johnny's eyes perfectly, so that they had that shimmer of fear to their black glow. He would draw his big eyes so bright that you would have thought it was Johnny on the page, but it was. He would perfectly sketch his hair, making it curl behind his ears like it used to and having it glisten with grease. I remembered the way his bangs fell across his forehead is wisps and tufts and my funniest memories were when we had to keep pushing his hair back out of his eyes so he could see. Dallas always did that…even the day Johnny laid still in the hospital.

If Johnny asked Dally to go to church, Dally would have, singing the way the faithful sang, even if he was a hood. He would do it for Johnny, but maybe one day he would turn into a good person, die a saint…okay maybe I'm getting a little _too_ carried away…but you know what they say, anything is possible! I couldn't imagine that, but I wonder if Johnny could, he always looked up to Dallas like a hero and I see why now. He's gallant and so is Johnny is too, so their similarities rub off on each other.

I guess to explain the last thought; I'll have to ask Dallas himself. I didn't want to, but Johnny could get his way with anyone…I don't know what it was, was it that lost puppy look or his fearful, shy smile? I finally left my thoughts, got up, and trailed downstairs to ask Dally that question. _You're so lucky that you're my best friend, Johnny, _I thought, _or I wouldn't be doing this for you! _Well, then again, even if he wasn't my best friend, I'd still probably be doing this for him. He could…

"Whoa! Watch it, kid!" Dally said startled.

"Oh, sorry, Dally. Ummm…I kind of have a question for you," I said hesitantly.

"And what would that be?"

"Would you...ummm…watch a, uh, a sunset?" I said shakily while my hands were getting clammy.

"Wait, did you just ask me if I would _watch a sunset_?"

"Uh…yes."

"Darry always did say you never used you head," he replied annoyed, "Look kid, I don't have time for your stupid questions." He turned away and began walking.

"Please, Dally?"

"Look, I'm not the kind of person to ask these soft questions to. Just leave me alone," he said irritated and his eyes were blazing. I knew better than to annoy him when he was like that, but that didn't stop me this time.

"Do it for Johnny!" I practically screamed.

"What?" Dally turned around with a pained expression on his face, he looked like Darry the day he saw me in the hospital. The way Dally talked was so painfully gentle that I could have cried. We never spoke of Johnny and Dallas liked to keep it that way.

"I said, 'Do it for Johnny'," I replied, "He asked me to ask you that."

"When did he ask you that?"

"In this book he was reading, he left a note to me asking me to ask you to watch a sunset," my breath was getting quick from all those words.

"Let me see," Dally said anxiously and I handed him the letter, which was in my pocket. He read it slowly and lifted his head up. The expression on his face was distressing and he looked like he could cry.

"You know, you had an awful good friend…" he said, "I just wish he could have told _me_ these things…" he replied regretfully.

"It's only because I feel the same," I replied and Dally looked depressingly at me.

"Only if I understood gold," he stated randomly and I looked at the expression on his face and I felt pity. Aching pity that would never leave me. I looked outside at the sunset beginning and tugged gently on his sleeve.

"C'mon," I began, but that was all I could say.


	2. Explaining Gold

Hey guys, so I really want to thank everybody for the reviews on all my stories. You guys are awesome and please keep up with my stories! Anyway, since the people that reviewed enjoyed this story, I hope you enjoy this last chapter. Oh, and I tried not to make Dallas OOC, so I really hope that worked! ;)

Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own The Outsiders, in case you didn't know. But actually I guess I do own these events!

I Don't Think He Knows…

Ponyboy's POV:

I opened the door slowly and walked out with Dallas on my trail. I couldn't help but feel a strange knot in my stomach. I was just waiting for Dally to pummel me out here so there wouldn't be any evidence inside. But at the same time, this incredulous trust was telling me that I could believe Dally. I don't know what it was exactly, maybe my conscience?

Dally seemed to be kind of depressed, which eluded me. I mean, the tough Dally could be broken? I knew his heart was broken for sure. His heart was made of steel, the toughest of metals, but even steel could be broken with a certain tool. I guess Johnny was that tool.

I turned around to look at Dally and then I pointed at the sky. Golly was that pretty. The sun was this radiant orange and its rays lit up the surrounding neighborhood. Our neighborhood never really was that tuff, but I still think I may have been in Heaven for a moment. Spots of pink sparkled across the sky and yellow and red painted it as if it was a canvas. But I could never forget. The gold in the center glimmered onto the pavement. It sparkled like raindrops and dew on the shiny slivers of grass, or maybe it was more like tears. I turned to find Dally, whose eyes were fixed on the sky. He looked like he did when Johnny died: defeated.

"Dal?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" he replied practically silently.

"That's what a sunset looks like," I smiled.

"Shoot, Ponyboy, I've looked at the sky dozens of times, but I ain't never seen that."

"Maybe he knew you'd finally pay attention to one and he reserved something special," I joked. Although, I felt like it was the thing that Johnny would do.

Dally cracked a half-grin, "Oh yeah, I think that too," he laughed slightly.

"Dally?"

"What?"

"That's gold."

"What do you mean?"

"When you wanted to know what gold was, what you just said was gold. What you just believed now is gold," I could feel my eyes welling up. I couldn't believe I was saying this to the same guy who was in jail last month and who congratulated Johnny on killing Bob Sheldon.

Dallas nodded casually and I could tell that maybe that made him feel decent, in a way. Of course he didn't show it, though, because that just isn't Dally.

"That's tuff enough," he said half-heartedly.

I sat looking at the sky for a few minutes. I was stunned that Dally didn't show he was happy. Then I remembered, I wasn't talking to Soda or Johnny, I was talking to Dally, and Dally is rarely satisfied. Besides, some silly sunset wouldn't alter his life.

"Dally, you want to know something?" I was nervous to even bring up what I was thinking just now.

"Sure."

"When Johnny wrote that letter, I'm sure as anything that he was telling you to stay gold too, y'know?" That took a lot of nerve on my part to say that. Maybe Dally would smile. Or maybe that was too much to ask for.

"Naw, Pony, that ain't true," he doubted me. I think he seemed a little mad that I would suggest such a dumb idea. But deep down inside, I think he was really ashamed that Johnny would call him a gold person and look up to him. What Dally really wanted was something much better, a golden future for Johnny. I realized he still wasn't too amused with that comment I told him. Am I trying to get myself killed or something?

"Y'know how much Johnny looked up to you, right?"

"I don't see why. There ain't nothing special about me, 'cept that I can cuss better than anybody else and rob more stores in one night than any greaser in our city," he joked.

"Yeah, but, I don't know, Johnny told me that you were gallant at the church, or something." I felt like I could get through to hard-headed Dally for once, well at least for now.

"You sure you got the right Dallas?"

"Yeah, he said that the time you covered for Two-Bit and got arrested, that that was gallant."

"I guess so. Really nothing to it, though. Just instinct."

That actually made me feel proud of Dally…almost. The fact that he would cover for his friends, lie to the cops, and go to jail while calling it "instinct" seemed incredible. Maybe there _was_ some good in Dally after all.

"Let's try again. What you just believed now, that was gold." I smiled.

"Yeah, it was," he rolled his eyes with a smile and a scoff, plus the natural hint of his infamous sarcasm.

I laughed and looked away, but I turned back to see Dally, his mouth dropped open. He was looking at the sunset again.

I looked up to see the clouds and they looked like they were spelling out "stay gold". Dally turned to me. We both looked surprised, but I grinned and laughed at him.

"I told you."

Ever since that day, I have never seen a sunset more beautiful. I haven't seen clouds that spelled "stay gold" either. But I had the memories of Dally's and my day. He had them too and every once in awhile, he mentioned it. And every time he mentioned it, I whispered something that I know Johnny could hear:

"Don't worry, Johnny, _I think he knows…_"

THE END

Thanks a lot for everything guys, and please read and review! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! ;)


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